Close Cuomo Ally Tapped for State Ethics Body

State Inspector General Ellen Biben, a prosecutor with close ties to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has been tapped to oversee the state’s overhauled ethics body.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which the governor and lawmakers created in June as part of an ethics package that Cuomo dubbed the “Clean Up Albany Act,” approved Biben’s appointment in a closed-door meeting Tuesday, according to people familiar with the decision.

The governor’s office encouraged commission members to vote for Biben. In the week leading up to the vote, Cuomo’s office directly reached out to legislative leaders to promote Biben’s hiring, according to people familiar with the conversations. The commission approved her in an 11-to-3 vote and offered her the job, which she accepted.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, raised concerns about the selection process before her appointment and questioned whether there had been a competitive search, according to people familiar with the matter.